Knitting machine jack



Feb. 4, 1958 s. R. SHELMIRE KNITTING MACHINE JACK Original Filed April 2, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 BY it v ATTORNEYS FIG.

Feb. 4,1958 5. R. SHELMIRE 2,821,846

' KNITTING MACHINE JACK Original Filed April 2, 1952 2 Sheets- Sheet 2 I INVENTOR. STANLEY R. SHELMIRE ATTORNEYS United States Patefit O 2,821,846 n NI rrme MACHINE JACK .wstanley R. Shehnire, Laconia, N! H 'as siguorto' Scott & Williams, -Inc qr porated, Laconia NuH acorporation ,1' of Massachusetts flriginal 'ap" entail 3April '2, 1952,-seriai No,- zsogoso. Divided an'd this application=ctober 13, 1954, Serial No: M51 97? riclaims. (C|."'6"6+123 invhtiontrela'tes t'o' jacks for knitting tmachines and alias ri-particular treference' to"-jacks of. rocking type.

Thistapplicationis a division of rny' application Serial No. 280,050, filed April 2,.-'l9'52.

FThe niachine"ofrsaidzparent' applidation is particularly designed: for;- the formation of solid color patterned areas joined by interlocking loops, as*exernplified byrdia'rnonds inrth'eflegrpdrtions of hosiery. *Fabricfof thistype re-' quires reciprocatoryfknitting, if floats-are to be-'avoided, and product'ioniof'airpatterned portionrof'a stocking, or wrtheJi-ke; is relatively slow; 1 However-, 'in accorda nce with the "machine-20f sai'de-parent application, 2 four feeds are used"for patternformation, a' single feed being-used for 1' each-co1or' area;and,ttheseafeedsbeing available, he'els, "1405B, ringrtoes and loopersrounds may -bje -knit'; two-feed =-1=and the; foot (and ring toes,- if -desired) of -a stocking may bemknit 'four-feed ithereby" speeding up production. -Multiple= feed-'1 knitting -of -a top may also ,-be,-aceom- {relished In .said machine;during-patterning,yarn feeding fingers are continuou-slywinr action throughout the formation of groups of courses -until. yarn changes are a required,- as,

for example, between diamonds The patterning is,-ac- ,cording-ly accomplished-solely by need-lea selection under the control. of jacks. Themachine includes provisionfor .lijalckflselectioniland control. of novel type. Furthermore, (especial jacks are 5 provided whichhave ,utility "not only .JinJthefmachine of. said... parent application-but may be a .plex control of fjacks is involved.

'The object of the present invention is, accordingly, 7 .Hthe provision. o fnimproved jacks This ;object. together j'yvith oitherserelating 'todetailsof constructionand operation willnbecome apparent from the following descripfj tion, readl'in conjunctionwith' the accompanying drawiingsg in which: l

Figure 1 is afivertical section'through the upper, porl tionot the-1 machine described more,'.fully in said-parent (application; and v Figure 2' is an inside: development showing cams for ac'tirig' ripen needles,- pattern jacksand intermediate jacks, "and "yarn and rubberfeeding-fingers;therenbeing indi- ,cated at the ight of the camsfaneedle,.-an.intermediate jacltQand a patferri'jack of the, types-used.

Only. sofmuch of the complete knitting machines of j s'ad'parenf application isdescribed herein as is necessary flier an understanding ofuthe improvedejack construction ilandits "mode. 'of operation. Reference may be made to fsaidlpar ent' application for complete details of, the forma- ".ti'o nof stockings of the type indicated above.

Ihe'mac'hine comprises latch needles 2..which are-ar- "ranged in: two series'withtlong andshort butts,.-respective'ly,las is usuall'for idifie'rentiation in, the knitting of eels and toes. These needles are mounted in usual "t fa"shio n in the slots; of a .needle cylinder 4, and icooperatingivvi'th the needles" aretheusual sinkers: 6 mounted infa sinker-dial and controlled-by cams. Below-the used in irnanylother instances whereaparticularly com- .ne'dls in the cylinder. slots l-arew intermediate. jacks 8:

2,821,846 Patented Feb. 4, 1958 A "sixth butt may be provided but is not used in the machine offsai'd parent'application.

, at its underside provided with an angular notch in. diatedat '19. Th'e'edge -21-o ftl1ejack belowbutt 18 is parallel 'to the back l i of the jack below "fiilc rumilZ. Engagement er ihe' e dge 21 by the cylindrical face of a 'cam' i-aising b1it t*1'8 by engagement of its upperfedge "withinnotch '19 prevents rocking'out'wardly of the lower '--Below-'the fulcruinj point 12 there are anurnber of buttswhich include various groups. J The lowermost butt '20-is provided to furnish-a rlifferentiation of the needles durin'g makeup. 'Abovef'this b'utt arefour butts wa, b, 20c a'n'd 20d. Butts atthese "-lev'els have functions generally corresponding to those =er the but'ts at the levels l6'ato 16d, 1 inclusive.

Above th'e l'ower: butts just-mentioned are "butts" 22 which are used tor selection of'jaeks'by cooperatidn' with reading cams. Any desired numherof such butts 22*fnay be provided --to secure the desired patterns.

Y of whichr'is'provided'withan an'g'ularnotch 26 'ada eh to lection. In thejack illustrated'i n Figure 2 all-"of 'the but-ts ment'ioned are shown. It 'will be 'zunderstood howeverg that -mediate jacks 8, t-heF-butts" of which are at their-levehrvvhen these-jacks-move fromrleftrto right; during' 'a Eclookivise "2021 to 20d, inclusive, and 22 "are reni'oved tovprovide difierentiatio'n of. jacks 'for patterning and ot l'i'eni purposes.

he machine-rise provided with four yarn feeding: i'stat'ions which are defined essentially =ibyl-thel tespective throats 28, 30, 32sand 34inthe latch 'i'irig of thea irnachine. These respective throats *willuhe hereafter referred to 'as defining feed number 1, -feed-iinufnber 2, -feed nur'nber 3nand'feed nurnber-4. rAt thesezwar-ious feeding stations thereare. provided yarn-feedirig fingers indicated inFi-gur'es 2 -at-36, there being additionally I providedatfeedvnumber -4 -a-finger'38 arranged1tosfeed :elasticyatn to the needles, this elasticya'rn being,ig'enerally, covered rubber yarn.

-A't feed number' l the forwardyand reverse stitdh cams are indicated at: 40and- 42,- respectively. At feed mumber '2 thjere are providedwthe respeetive forwardreand-a rewhich are arranged to be-pivoted about their uppenends, being spring-held "in the full line -.-posit-ious; slrownin Figured. ,-Cams 76-and '78 are adapted to raise-lim terreciprocation, but yield to permit the butts of these intermediate jacks to pass during counterclockwise reciprocations. In similar fashion,the cams 80 and 82are adapted to raise intermediate jacks 8 during counterclockwise reciprocations but yield to permit passage of their butts 9 during clockwise reciprocations. Cams 84 and 86 are provided to raise intermediate jacks under certain conditions during both clockwise and counterclockwise reciprocations. Cams 88, 90, 92 and 94 adjacent to these earns 84 and 86 are arranged to lower the intermediate jacks by engagement with their butts 9. Cams 96, 98, 100 and 102 are also adapted to act upon the butts 9 at the intermediate jacks to lower these iacks. All of the cams acting on the intermediate jacks are fixed except the pivotal cams 76, 78, 80 and 82.

The various cams acting directly upon the jacks 10 may now be described. A cam 104 between feed number 1 and feed number 2 is arranged with a wedge-shaped upper edge to engage within the notch 19 below a butt 18 of a pattern jack to raise it in both directions of reciprocation whenever the jack reaches it with its upper end in an outer position, lowering of the jack after its rise being effected by cams 106 or 108. Raising cam 110 and lowering cams 112 and 114 have similar functions between feed number 3 and feed number 4. The blocks providing cams 106, 108, 112 and 114 are sulficiently far out radially to permit butts 9 of intermediate jacks 8 to pass them without engagement though they will engage the upper ends of pattern jacks 10 which project radially outwardly to a considerable extent whenever engagement should occur.

Cooperating with the point 26' at the outer end of the lower notch 26 of each of the jacks there are the cams 116, 118, 120 and 122 which serve to position the jacks at proper level for tilting selection. These cams are provided with bevelled upper edges tangent to the arc of tilting so as to define the lowered positions of the jacks but not to interfere with their tilting, the points 26 riding on these upper edges.

Cams 124 and 126 are provided respectively between feed number 4 and feed number 1 and between feed number 2 and feed number 3 to engage within the notches 26 of jacks the lower ends of which are projected outwardly. For this purpose, the cams 124 and 126 have sharp upper edges for reception by the notches 26. If, however, the jacks are rocked inwardly, these cams are passed by the butts 24 without action thereon. All of the cams 116, 118, 120, 122, 124 and 126 are fixed.

Reading cams which are moved upwardly and downwardly in unison step by step and also have radial movements, as described fully in said parent application, are provided to engage butts of the group 22. Of these cams, 130, 134, 138 and 142 are adapted to engage butts during counterclockwise reciprocations of the needle cylinder while cams 128, 132, 136 and 140 engage butts during clockwise reciprocations.

Fixed cams 144, 146, 148 and 150 are arranged at the respective feed stations to act upon the butts 18 of the pattern jacks to rock their upper ends inwardly and their lower ends outwardly. Cams 152, 154, 156 and 158, which will be hereinafter referred to as upper key cams are provided at the various feeds for selective actions upon the butts at the levels 16a, 16b, 16c and 16d, respectively. Cam 159 at the same level as cam 158 is provided for special action on butts at the level 16d when going on the heel. Cams 160, 162, 164 and 166, all at the same level, are arranged to act upon butts at the level 14 and will be hereinafter referred to as blanking cams.

Lower key cams 168, 170, 172 and 174 are provided at the several feeds to act, respectively, upon butts at the levels 20a, 20b, 20c and 20d. The cam 176 is specially provided at the location of feed number 1 for acting upon butts at the level 20'. This cam acts during counterclockwise rotation of the needle cylinder to provide selection of needles during makeup and the formation of an elastic top. Lower blanking cams are provided at 178, 180, 182 and 184 to act upon the butts of the jacks at 24. The various key cams and blanking cams which have been mentioned are radially movable in relationship to the various reading cams as described in said parent application. Cams 159 and 176 are controlled for radial movements from the main cam drum of the machine.

Of the key and blanking cams, cams 152, 156, 162, 166, 170, 174, 178 and 182 operate during counterclockwise reciprocations of the needle cylinder. The remainder of these cams act on jacks during clockwise reciprocations. Cams 159 and 176 are active during counterclockwise movements of the needle cylinder.

For the purpose of making clear the operation of the jacks, there may be considered first a clockwise and then a counterclockwise stroke of a particular jack. It will be assumed that this jack has butts missing at 20a and 20b but-is provided with butts 20c and 20d. There will first be considered a clockwise stroke with reading cams at one level and then a counterclockwise stroke with reading cams at a different level.

The jack will be assumed to have butts missing at 1641 and 16b but as having butts present at 16c and 16d. It will have a butt present at 14.

Assuming that the jack under consideration starts its clockwise stroke, i. e. to the right as viewed in Figure 2, from a position immediately to the left of cams 170 and 178, its lower end will initially be inward. The jack will pass cams 170 and 178 which are inactive during a clockwise stroke and will have its upper end rocked inwardly by cam 144. and then rocked outwardly by cam 128 engaging a butt 22 present at its level. The upper end of the jack is again rocked inwardly by cam 158 engaging the butt present at 16d, so that butt 18 passes without engaging cam 110. Cam 156 is inactive and, in any event, the upper end of the jack is already in inner position so that this cam will be passed without engagement. Cam 142 is inactive and while it is at the level of an existing butt, the jack will pass it without being acted on. The top butt 18 being already in inner position, it will pass the cam without action. The butt of the jack at the level previously mentioned will, however, be engaged by active cam 140 with the result that the lower end of the jack will be rocked inwardly. Key cam 168 is in active position but produces no movement of the jack because the jack has no key butt at 20a. Due to the inward position of the lower end of the jack, it will pass without engaging cam 124.

Cams 174 and 138 are inactive and no rocking of the jack occurs until it reaches cam 148 which acts on butt 18 to rock its upper end inwardly. The iack then passes the position of active cam 136 which will engage a butt present at its level rocking the lower end of the jack inwardly and the upper end outwardly. Cam 154 is in active position but, as above noted, the jack has butt 16b at the level of this cam missing. The result is that the upper end of the jack remains in outer position to engage cam 104 by which it is raised, and then depressed by the action of cam 108.

The jack then passes inactive key cam 152 and inactive reading cam 134 and is then acted upon by cam 146 which presses its upper end inwardly. Reading cam 132 which is active then engages the butt at the level previously mentioned rocking the lower end of the jack inwardly. The jack then passes the active cam 172 without action and due to the inner position of its lower end it passes without engaging the cam 126. Key cam and reading cam 130 are both inactive, hence the next action is that of the cam 144 on its butt 18 to effect inward rocking of the upper end of the jack. Cam 128 engages the butt at the level mentioned to rock the upper end of the jack outwardly. However, the jack is immediately rocked in the reverse direction by active key cam 158 which engages butt 16d. The result is the rocking inwardly of the upper end of the jack to cause it to miss cam 110.

The jack thenwends its clockwiserstrokesincawposition in the vicinity of cam 156.

It will be noted from the above that the'j'ack has moved at a constant levelexcept for itsriseover cam- 104-and its subsequent depression by'cam 108; Durin'g'therise;

over cam 104-the'jack will raise-its associatedintermediate jack The operations'ofthe intermediate'jackand of the needles which result need not be described herein, but are detailed in said parent application.

At the end of the clockwise stroke there will occur a shifting of the various cams acting upon the jacks and the reading cams will be raised or lowered to another level at which it may be assumed that the jack under consideration has its butt 22 missing. At the ends of the strokes, the reading cams are withdrawn so that the changes of their levels take place without engagement with butts 22. After change of level, the reading cams corresponding to the next stroke move into action. Of the upper key cams, cams 152 and 156 will now become active while cams 154 and 158 become inactive. Of the lower key cams, 170 and 174 become active while 168 and 172 become inactive. Reading cams 130, 134, 138 and 142 are now active while the other associated reading cams are inactive. There may now be described the sequence of operations involved as the same jack moves in its counterclockwise stroke entering the righthand side of Figure 2.

The jack moves counterclockwise past the cam 110 with its upper end in inner position and will pass the inactive key cam 158 and the inactive reading cam 128, also the cam 144 which will be without action thereon. Cam 130 is active but, since it is now in the position of the missing jack butt 22, it is without action on the jack. Key cam 170 is active but, as has been noted, the butt at level b corresponding to this key cam is missing from the jack with the result that the lower end of the jack remains in outer position to engage and rise over the cam 126. The result of this rise is to cause the butt 9 of the intermediate jack 8 to engage and rise over cam 86 and then to be depressed by cam 92 which also depresses the jack to its normal level.

Cams 172 and 132 are inactive and the jack, accordingly, passes these cams and also cam 146 without action, its upper end being in inner position. Cam 134 is active but, since the butt 22 at its level is missing, the jack passes this cam without being,acted upon. The jack also passes the active cam 152 which would have no effect because the upper end of the jack is already in inner position, but, in any event, this cam 152 could have no effect since the butt at level 16a is missing. The jack, accordingly, passes cam 104 without engagement and then passes the inactive cams 154 and 136 and also the cam 148. "It then passes without engagement the cam 138 which is at the level of the missing butt but active cam 174 engages the butt 20d to rock the lower end of the jack inwardly. The result is that the jack misses the cam 124 and then passes inactive cams 168'and 140. Cam 150 will rock its upper end to inner position. The jack then passes cam 142 which, though active, is without action in view of the missing butt at its level. The jack then passes active cam 156 which has no effect since the upper end of the jack is in inner position and the jack then passes without engaging the cams 110 and 144.

The jack reaches its final position only after passing cams 13th, 170 and 178. As it reaches the cam 130, its lower end is in outer position and cam 130, though active, is at the level of a missing butt so no action on the jack occurs. Cam 170 is also active, but there is no butt at level 2011 so this cam is also without action. In the absence of blanking cam 178, therefore, the lower end of the jack would engage cam 126 and would be lifted thereby, in turn raising its intermediate jack and needle. To avoid such occurrence, the blanking cam 178 is provided which, becoming active toward the end of the stroke, rocks the lower end of the jack inwardly to miss 6 cam: 126i Thissactioncisttypicalszrif the tl'ilarikingcams whichpreventf; second: selections :rof-fthe jacks 'as'i'they .reach'for a-second timenthe feeds .intocwhich theyiwere originally selected.

It'will'be noted thatthe path-ofrthe. jack in'this counterclockwise-stroke was :at "a-xconstant 'level'except for the rise-over cm 126 which, ,asrealready mentioned, serves to produce-axriseof-the intermediate jack .8'over cam 86- and then-its1depressiont.by.cam:92.; Otherwise, the intermediate jack also moved at' za' 'constant low level.

The result of the foregoing is to cause the needle associated with the jack under discussion to take yarn at the same feed during strokes in both directions and to take yarn at that feed only.

Various other operations may be carried out utilizing the jacks as described more fully in said parent application. It will be evident that details of construction may be changed without departing from the invention as defined in the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A jack for reception in slots in a needle carrier of a knitting machine comprising an elongated member having on one longitudinal edge a fulcrum structure and having a plurality of selectively removable butts on each side of said fulcrum structure for engagement by cams for selective rocking of the jack.

2. A jack for reception in slots in a needle carrier of a knitting machine comprising an elongated member having on one longitudinal edge a fulcrum structure, having a butt on its other longitudinal edge on each side of said fulcrum structure engageable by cams to impart longitudinal movements to the jack, and having a plurality of selectively removable butts on each side of said fulcrum structure for engagement by cams for selective rocking of the jack.

3. A iack for reception in slots in a needle carrier of a knitting machine comprising an elongated member having on one longitudinal edge a fulcrum structure, having a butt on its other longitudinal edge on each side of said fulcrum structure engageable by cams to impart longitudinal movements to the jack, and having a plurality of selectively removable butts on at least one side of said fulcrum structure for engagement by cams for selective rocking of the jack.

4. A jack for reception in slots in a needle carrier of a knitting machine comprising an elongated member having on one longitudinal edge a fulcrum structure and having a butt on its other longitudinal edge on one side of said fulcrum structure engageable by a cam to impart longitudinal movement to the jack, the jack having between said butt and said fulcrum structure a portion on the second mentioned longitudinal edge which is parallel to the portion of the first mentioned longitudinal edge on the opposite side of said fulcrum structure.

5. A jack for reception in slots in a needle carrier of a knitting machine comprising an elongated member having on one longitudinal edge a fulcrum structure and having a butt on its other longitudinal edge on one side of said fulcrum structure engageable by a cam to impart longitudinal movement to the jack, the jack having between said butt and said fulcrum structure a portion on the second mentioned longitudinal edge which is parallel to the portion of the first mentioned longitudinal edge on the opposite side of said fulcrum structure, said butt having an undercut notch for reception of a cam.

6. A single part jack for reception in slots in a needle carrier of a knitting machine comprising an elongated member having on one longitudinal edge a fulcrum structure arranged to seat against the bottom of a slot, having a butt on its other longitudinal edge on each side of said fulcrum structure engageable by cams to impart longitudinal movements to the jack, and having a plurality of butts at different levels on each side of said fulcrum structure for selective engagement by cams for selective rocking of the jack.

7. -A single part jack for reception in slots in a needle carrier of a knitting machinecomprising an elongated member having on one longitudinal edge a fulcrum structure arranged to seat against the bottom of a slot, having a butt on its other longitudinal edge on each side of said fulcrum structure engageable by cams to impart longitudinal movements to the jack, and having a plurality of butts at different levels on at least one side of said fulcrum srtucture for selective engagement by cams for selective rocking of the jack.

References Cited in the fil: of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

